This painting with sound activity was too brilliant to not share. It’s a perfect addition to a 5 senses theme. I can’t claim any credit for this other than choosing a great preschool for my kids. This came directly from my daughter’s teachers and when I saw it Wednesday I gasped because it’s pretty rare when I see something new to me. The only thing I changed was to put it on a vertical surface but that was because I was duplicating the activity only a few hours after my daughter did it at school and wanted to change it a little for her. I love using my doors as makeshift easels.
- Gather your materials. You will need some paintbrushes (these were sent to me from craftprojectideas.com and worked well!), jingle bells, pipe cleaners, paper, and paint. If you are doing this on a window as we did you will want some painter’s tape to keep the paper up without leaving crud on your window.
- Start by threading the bells on the pipe cleaners. I put different numbers of bells on each to create slightly different sounds.
- Wrap around the end of the paint brushes.
- Let your little one explore the brushes and shake before they get covered in paint . She shook them as hard as she could before they were covered in paint.
- Grab some paint and paper.
- Add your artist.
She really liked this and loved hearing the jiggle bells as she was painting. We talked about which ones made the prettiest sound and she decided she only liked 3 out of the 4 and refused to use the largest one at all. Using the vertical surface seemed to encourage her to make big strokes which really made the bells jingle. We ended up learning all about color mixing too. 
She wanted to make red so we tried all the combinations to discover how close we could come to it. Don’t shy away from lessons like color mixing that emerge from other ones.
Yes the plan was to talk about sound but there is always room for more or different lessons. - I even managed to step away and start dinner while she painted and made beautiful tinkling sounds.
Katie says
I love the glass door easel. Makes the colors really look beautiful! I will be looking at our sliding door in a whole new light. Thanks for the idea!
Shaunna @ Fantastic Fun and Learning says
This is a wonderful idea. My daughters would love to make music as they also make art! Thanks for the inspiration.
Annie says
But how do you stop your toddler from painting on everything else in the room?
Annie says
I love the idea btw! just feeling an unwanted cautiousness about letting my 2yo loose with paints and white walls/doors..would welcome tips on how to get round this (which you obviously have) x
Allison McDonald says
Actually my daughter ( who is really almost 3 now) did get the wall that day. I handed her a wet paper towel and asked her to wipe it up. Then I told her if she did it again we’d put the paint away. Make sure you have washable paints ( these are crayola kid paint which I find to be really really washable) , and some wipes or wet towel on hand. It might mean that you do this activity ( or similar ones) 10 times but only make it to a minute each time before they paint the wall get a warning and do it again.
I use words like ” We paint on paper, where is the paper?” a lot.. a LOT when we first started painting with more freedom and it can feel very mind numbing at times saying so much but it works.
Be consistent. No need for huge reactions ( they LOVE it when we react big and keeping those big reactions for when they are in danger and we need to make them stop immediately is probably better) and give them a natural consequence like cleaning it up.
Now this works for me 90% of the time but sometimes kids go rogue ( like the time my son at 5 wrote his name in sharpie on my fireplace. That got a huge reaction trust me. FYI dry erase markers take sharpie off most hard surfaces). It’s not always because of anything we have or haven’t done. So don’t blame yourself or think there is anything wrong. It’s natural to want to explore .
Sorry to ramble – just wanted to say that my kids do it too the key is to warn, follow through with consequenses and only use washable paints!
Lisa says
How about taking this idea outside once the weather begins to warm up where you live. This is a fabulous idea and one that children of all ages will enjoy and benefit from. However, sometimes we need to adapt our expectations. My 2 year old is not going to be able to keep the paint only on the paper. This is no reflection on my parenting or on him personally…this is the reality of being 2 years old. I do not mean to sound harsh but only want to stress helping children find ways to participate in experiences and activities in ways that encourage learning and success.
Allison McDonald says
I think that’s a great idea! I could not agree more that setting them up for success is so important!
Rebekah says
Where did you find your paint brushes? I’m on a search for a great set of thick handled brushes for my two year old and yours look really great.
Allison McDonald says
Rebekah mine were sent to me by Craftprojectideas.com – if you click through the link it will take you directly to their site.
Hayley says
I am an Occupational Therapist and I love this activity – what a simple way of incorporating auditory stimulation into what is commonly used to develop fine motor skills!! Love this website.